His Ford Focus SVT morphed from daily driver to high-performance weekend warrior

but it's a Ford Focus....

what a joke- glad I have the memories of the real muscle cars- it looks like what we used to call a rice burner but that is not allowed or corect but call it what it looks like-

You guys have no idea what you're talking about.

SVT is the group within Ford that built the Lightning trucks and the Mustang Cobras. The SVT Focus has more horsepower than a stock Focus, a six-speed transmission, upgraded seats and a performance suspension. They are quick, fun to drive and still get good mileage. I wouldn't mind having one to park next to my built 93 5.0, my 93 Saleen, my blown 96 Cobra and my 08 Sport Trac Adrenalin.

I agree - the first commenters are clueless.

I wouldn't mind having a Focus like this at all. I like other Ford vehicles as well. At least one American car company is doing things right!

2006 focus rally car of the year. And a muscle car goes fast in a straight line...?

Just so some people have a clue about the SVT Focus. The Ford Focus SVT won the following awards:

Car and Driver Top 10
Consumer Reports: Most Fun Car to Drive
Automobile Magazines: Best Car under $30K
European Car of the Year

It's a great car. Most Americans just don't know it.

Makes me miss my SVT Contour...

This car looks like it's for a high school kid. I'll bet it has a cool "system" with lots of amps and a coffee can muffler that screams "look at me." But seriously, how old are you? Get an Audi, BMW, Benz, Range Rover, or some other adult car. Why waste your money on this crap unless you're cruising for high school girls?

jacinto - it's a track car! Can't you tell it's on a road course?

Range Rovers do really well on the track.

Clearly all the idiots that are talking bad about them have never driven one or been beaten on the track by one and as far as the BMW and Audi comment you better bring an M or a quattro or you will get your butt handed to you by that little Ford!

Hahahaha, I lost count of how many people are clueless about the SVT Focus. He has a little more under the hood than stock...and weight reduction. If jacinto thinks that even an M3 would keep up with this...he's wrong. A new M3 would be really good competition, but that's about it.

Apperantly some people can't read. "a personal high-performance, sport-driving project vehicle." I know Kim and his car, it is far form a "rice burner." Kim does have a Audi and choses to use his SVT Focus as his high performance track car. I envite anyone that thinks other wise to take a trip out to the track and watch a sesion with him out on track. To me this is the essence of Hotrod, taking a everyday car and inproveing it's performance.

boy you lot on the other side of the pond.a good car great handling really good mpg wait until your paying $8/9 a gallon you need to wake up and smell the coffee as you say over there,because these kind of cars are the immediate future not the gas guzzling stuff you have been turning out for years.check out the ford ka 70/80 to the gallon why give your money in more taxes when your sat behind a guzzler in the jam on the road ?

It doesn't look so much like a "rice burner" as it does a European compact car, which you can see everywhere in Europe.

Not surprising, given that I believe it originated in Ford's European operations.

I have an SVT focus also and I sold my 3 liter BMW because the focus gave me all the driving thrills I needed. The BMW was faster but this little car gets close to 35 when I drive to portland and it doesnt cost an arm and a leg to repair something. You suprise a lot of people with this little pocket rocket.

I have an 03 SVT ZX5. What a great little car. Its six years old and other than a leaky master cyclinder (fixed under warranty), it has given me no problems. It reasonably economical, fun to drive in just about any situation and I can still haul the kids around in it. What I don't understand is why Ford dropped the ZX3/5 body style in favor of a newer econobox look. The Europeans get an updated Focus that is true to the ZX3/5 styling and it was great fun to drive - had one as a rental in England.

Oh well, when gas goes to $5/gal I'n probably going to get a Fusion hybrid anyway.

Add one to the list of boosted track made focus owners. Mad props to Kim, he rocks!

still would be my Nissan 350Z any day over this Focass ...

I bought my '03 Focus SVT new, and have been commuting in it ever since. I have 145K miles on it now. Performance? I damn near ran it up the tailpipe of a 911 Carrera in a thrilling, white knuckle, totally impromptu race up Chuckanut Drive a couple years ago. When we got to Bellingham, all the driver of that $100K German prestige machine could do was not in respect to the $20K Ford that just kicked his butt.

Not a rice burner. It'\s an "arroz " burner as it's assembled in Mexico. Nobody should slag on an SVT Focus until they've driven one. I've had one since 2004 and it's still a blast to drive after over 100k miles.

LOL. This car gets inspiration from the British Touring Car Championship series -- not so much street racing. Funny how much distaste the little thing can generate. Glad I did not post a pic with the APR wing. Hah! Ah well, to each his own. It's a great little road-course track toy and cheaper to run than a 993 or Exige. Not in the same class, certainly, but still fun to run at Pacific Raceways. I would have chimed in sooner, but just got back from Italy late last night. In Rome, this would be a mid-sized car. Heh.

People still rag on these cars? Its amazing that all the big Ford fans still rag on these cars. They are absolutely not built to go a billion miles an hour and run 10s or 11s on the 1/4 mile. What they are built for is restricted racing like World Rally Championship racing where the cars are restricted to 300 whp and 2.0L engines. They are used because they are cheap cars, EXTREMELY durable (I want to see someone take a muscle car down a gravel road at high speed and perfectly fine let alone be able to navigate the corners) and because the parts are cheap and they are easy to work on. The SVT Focus is a sport compact car

A stock svt focus runs a faster 1/4 mile than a stock 67 gt500 kr with a 428 big block. And it'll murder a c6 corvette on an autocross coarse.

Absolutely fantastic cars. I have two cars, an 04 SVTF with the EAP and an 07 Mazdaspeed 3. Both are the perfect balance of performance and daily driving comfort. I don't think people who rag on these cars have ever been on a legimate race track and can appreciate what some of these little fours are really capable of. I love when people chime in with muscle car comments though and they can keep them. Going fast in a series of corners is way more fun than going fast in a straight line with a 4200 lb car.

to the original comment.....it is just a Honda Civic.

The Focus SVT was a great car very fun to drive and decent gas mileage to boot... It is just a shame that the SVT line quit making it in 05 or that car would still be a hot seller today

I think any car can be hated on if you dont like it shut your mouth. I personally think mod some cars suck or whatever I bet some of the people that are making fun of this car are jealous that their car isnt this nice looking.

Just want to show some support for the SVT focus. I have and 04 EAP SVT and i'm in the process of making my focus into a track car as well. This is a beautiful SVT.

S'rly! I thought idiots that like ranting about how their cars are cooler and more powerful no longer existed.... oh well. [enter rolleyes smiley here]
Me beeing a Focus owner my self, and a Wagon at that, i do really appreciate the perfrmance and the handling. Even for a wagon, it sticks to corners rather well.
It's not made to go fast, it's made to be economical, yet it kicks ass on the track.
Anyways, to the OP, awesome ride!! Congrats!

I have an 02SVT focus. I got it in august of 05. when i was in HS that is... So yeah i was reasonably priced for a 16 year old, but also is still a great car for me being 20 and engaged. Its almost paid off and running great with 143K on it. Its reliable, quick, handles phenominally.

And to you, "t don't generate enough power" people...there are people i personally know that are builing 360 whp on an SVT. its got VCT, 6 speed getrag transmission, sport tuned suspension with sway bars, upgraded 4 wheel disk breaks, and its. These guys with 360 whp, thats stock block new pistons rings connecting rods, either super or turbo'd and about 2800 lbs vs. your 500 hp 4900 lb

thats 1:7 vs. 1:9...and just so you don't get confused...that 7 lbs for each horse for the Focus and 9 lbs for each horse for the "muscle car" . now you tell me. power to weight ratio. what do you think is going to win...plus while your spinning your tires and ratcheting through all 4 or your gears, im in third doing 75 and still gaing in torque and speed because i redline at 7200 with 6 gears and your blowing valves at 5000K and done building power at 3.

On the track, while your spinning in circles with your rear wheel drive shackled up GTO, or 'stang, or camaro, or what ever, i'm rounding the corners one wheel off the ground excelerating through corners thanks to my sway bars and quaffe limited slip differential.

Don't hate. I love muscle cars too..its heritage, but give it the benefit of the doubt. do some research and love 'em all.

I traded my Stealth R/T for a brand new Focus ZX3 back in 2003. I enjoy the Focus more than any car I've ever owned, Some people just can't appreciate how wonderful these European inspired cars really are. I love mine so much that I bought a second one.

You can say what you want. but i've got a 2002 SVT Focus next to my 66 Dodge Dart.

I bought my svt focus new in 04 and WOW its alot of fun. I beat up my buddies 86 trans am with a built 350 he has it cammed and bored out and I was pushing him down the hi way and I was only in 4th gear. And I kicked the shit out of a new boxter 145mph. And now i have a stage 2 clutch, air intake, and chip installed. I'll never get rid of it!!

Well, this thread is long dead, but I figured I could finish it off with a little video showing what is done with this supercharged SVT Focus. This in-car cam video was captured at a sunny, end-of-August, Pacific Raceways open lapping event sponsored by my favorite local car club: the NW Alfa Romeo Club:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFzKVOCYit0

Without a doubt, it's not the fastest car out there, but it is fun to drive when running with the right crowd of cars.

some stupid people out there. i drive an 02 svt focus, i agree one awesome car to drive. lets see these people get a car for 7 grand and keep up with us in the corners.

To all those guys that have no clue at all about what these cars represent, i would like to say this. I am a 41 year old Ford Master tech. I have built and owned just about every type of Ford out there at sometime or another. I have also been around just about any type of racing out there. These SVT Focus' cars are one of the best efforts to date that Ford has produced. It was designed in Europe as the replacement for the ageing Cosworth Escort Rally car. Hince, it was designed as a race car first, unlike "your" old muscle cars were. Show me a muscle car that can pull well over a full "G" in corners with less than $1000 spent on the suspension. The "rice burner" comment also shows your ignorance, the SVT was designed by Ford Racing and the drivetrain was developed by Cosworth. You would be hard pressed to find a better performance name than Cosworth. If you dont know who that is, crawl back under your oil leaking, 3 MPG, muscle car where you appearantly spend most of your time and ,seemingly, hit your heads. I bought the last SVT in the state and havent looked back since, with the exception of seeing your muscle car in my rear view mirror as i pull away with a slight waive bye.

Since I'm old enough to have owned Ford big blocks and an 84 SVO in the 80's I will comment. Ford management thought gas would go to 3 dollars a gallon in the 80's, hence the Turbo T-Bird and SVO. This car is awesome and represents the evolution of those cars. Although I miss my 429 Fords they are now collectors. Remember the grocery getter that did 13.5 in the quarter mile? This is the 21st century version and it gets great mpg and won't kill you in a curve. Also this is the car that kept Ford out of the fate GM and Chrysler are feeling. Some cars have evolved. Escalades and Denalis not part of it.

I have an SVT 2004 and just sold my 87 Baby Benz AMG 190e. This car cooks and blew away that Benz. Not only that, maybe you nay sayers should read the Edmunds article from 2002. Here is an excerpt:
The SVT blasted through our 600-foot slalom at 68.2 mph. Not only was it faster than the Civic and New Beetle, its slalom speed was higher than that of cars like the Chevy Corvette Z06, BMW M3 and Subaru Impreza WRX.
02. Here is and excerpt:
So much for your Euro-trash M3

I have a 04 5 door SVT. Its parked next to my 600hp 67 Chevelle. My Focus is a great car. Made a few mods to it. Replaced the flywheel with custom made 15lb steel billet unit, Torsen diff, new 2.5" exhaust, cold air intake, re chipped with a dyno tune. Upgraded the shocks with Koni's. 30mpg around town 35+ on the highway. The cars handles better than my wife's A-4 Quattro, and way faster. People who rag on these cars just need to drive one.
Ford really did there homework when they built these cars.

Hah. Fun to see like-minded car enthusiasts still defending the much-maligned Ford Focus SVT. Focustein is done for the year and will go into the shop for winter maintenance soon, but I was able to get out to one last event down at Portland International Raceway before the stormy season arrives.

Here's an in-car video from the little car chasing a turbo Volvo wagon; not a typical car at the track, but fun to chase with some big Hoosier meats on there:

http://www.youtube.com/mysvtftoy#p/u/0/TuWrQxeouuM

Can anyone identify the air dam/lip??????????

@John Birrell: That is a custom "splitter" created by Cantrell Motorsports in Kirkland. The airdam portion was originally taken from a "Road Race Gear" (roadracegear.com) part. Unfortuantely, roadracegear.com went bust. However, Colin actually expressed a preference to doing the entire thing from scratch anyway. Good luck.